Biographies

Mr. Suneel M. Advani is no longer Non-Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Blue Star Limited with effect from March 31, 2019. He is appointed as Chairman Emeritus of the Company with effective from April, 1 2019. He is no longer an Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of the Company effective March 31, 2014. He is a double graduate in Electrical Engineering and Economics from MIT, USA. He also holds a degree in Law from Mumbai University. He joined Blue Star in 1969 as a Management Trainee and moved up steadily by holding responsible positions before he was elevated to the position of President and Vice Chairman in 1984. He was redesignated as Vice Chairman & Managing Director of the Company in 2005. He has relinquished his position of Managing Director w.e.f. April 1, 2012 and is presently the Executive Vice Chairman of the Company. Suneel is also the Chairman & Managing Director of Blue Star Infotech Limited; Chairman of Blue Star Infotech (UK) Limited and Blue Star Infotech America, Inc as well as a Director of Blue Star Electro-Mechanical Limited. Suneel is a Member of the CII National Council, the apex governing body of CII. Besides, he is also associated with other trade associations and was the President of the Refrigeration and Airconditioning Manufacturers’ Association (RAMA).

Mr. Vir S. Advani re-designated as Vice Chairman of the Board, Managing Director of Blue Star Limited, with effect from 1 April 2019. Mr. Advani holds a BS degree in Systems Engineering and a BA degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed a comprehensive Executive Management Programme on Leadership Development at Harvard Business School. Vir, after a 2-year working stint in New York, joined Blue Star Infotech Ltd in 2000 and then founded Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd in 2003, designated as its Chief Executive Officer. In 2007, he moved to Blue Star as Vice President - Corporate Affairs, where he made valuable contributions in a profit improvement programme as well as in electro mechanical projects. He was promoted as Executive Vice President in 2008; President - Corporate Affairs & Special Projects in 2009 and Executive Director in 2010. Vir currently oversees the Electro Mechanical Projects business, Professional Electronics & Industrial Systems business, Corporate Planning and Investor Relations. Vir is a Director of Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd, Blue Star Electro-Mechanical Ltd and J T Advani Finance Pvt Ltd. He is also Chairman of the HVAC Contractors’ Sub-Committee of RAMA.

Mr. B. Thiagarajan re-designated as Managing Director, Executive Director of the Company, with effect from 1 April 2019. He has completed the Senior Executive Program of London Business School. He has over three decades of experience, having worked for Larsen & Toubro Ltd, BPL Ltd and Voltas Ltd, prior to joining Blue Star in 1998. Thiagarajan has handled various assignments in the Service business, Corporate Communications & Marketing and Corporate Affairs & Planning before he was promoted as President - AC&R Products Group in 2009. Under his leadership, the AC&R products business of the Company grew significantly. In 2013, Thiagarajan was elevated as Executive Director & President - AC&R Products Business and currently oversees AC&R Products, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Service, Corporate Communications & Marketing and Public Relations. Thiagarajan plays an active role in various industry forums and is the past President of RAMA. He has been driving the Cold Chain Infrastructure Development for several years. He is a Member of the CII National Council, Chairperson of the CII National Committee on State Level Co-ordination in Agriculture, Member of National Agricultural Council and represents Blue Star in the Southern Regional Council of CII. Thiagarajan is also a Director of Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd.

Mr. Ashok M. Advani is no longer Chairman Emeritus of Blue Star Limited with effective March, 31 2019. Mr. Advani is an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, an Electrical Engineer from MIT, USA and a B.Sc (Honours) from Mumbai University. He joined Blue Star in 1969 and held a variety of senior positions in manufacturing and finance in the Company before he took over the Company’s affairs as Chairman & Chief Executive in 1984. He was redesignated as Chairman & Managing Director in 2005 and Executive Chairman with effect from July 2009. As Executive Chairman, he oversees Corporate Strategy, Corporate Governance, Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility. Ashok is the Vice Chairman of Blue Star Infotech Limited and on the Board of Alfa Laval (India) Limited. He has been a member of the Local Advisory Board of The Chase Manhattan Bank and a past President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr. Rajiv R. Lulla serves as Non-Executive Director of the Company. Rajiv R Lulla is a Senior Advisor at Voltaire Capital (UK), and the Founder of Voltaire Capital (India), a technology-enabled trading firm operating in the UK, US and recently in India. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering with Electronics from King’s College, London, and an MBA from Imperial College, London. Rajiv has nearly 25 years of experience primarily as an investment banker engaged in merger advisory and corporate finance, and has completed transactions representing a combined value in excess of USD 220 billion. He has held a variety of senior leadership roles at Merrill Lynch, the Credit Agricole Group, and Deutsche Bank, based in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong.

Mr. Dinesh Nanik Vaswani serves as Non-Executive Director of the Company. Dinesh N Vaswani is the Founder and Managing Director of Acuitas Capital Advisors, a multi-family investment office focused on advising families on their investment portfolios in India. He has over three decades of experience in both investing in operating companies in India and the US. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BBA cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin. Dinesh was a Managing Director at Temasek Holdings, established Bessemer Venture Partners’ operations in India, and was CEO of Blue Star Infotech USA. He has served on a number of Boards of public and private companies including Firstsource, Mindtree, Venture Infotech, and Borosil.

Mrs. Rumjhum Chatterjee is Additional Independent Director of the Company. She is educated in Psychology from Calcutta University. She serves as the Group Managing Director, Head Human Capital and the Chief Compliance Officer for Feedback Infra Group. She is also the Chairperson of the Feedback Foundation Trust. She is very active in Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and served as the first woman Chairperson for Cll Northern Regional Council (2016-17) - the largest of the 4 Regions of Cll, comprising 9 states. She is a Member of the National Council of Cll and has held various responsibilities across the years. She has a deep interest in women's empowerment. Currently, she is the Chair of Cll's National Committee on Women's Empowerment and Indian Women Network. She is currently also the Vice Chairperson of the Governing Body of HelpAge India and a Trustee of '3E Education Trust' (HDFC Schools). She has recently joined the Board of Somany Ceramics Limited as an Independent Director.

Ms. Shobana Kamineni is Additional Independent Director of the Company. Shobana Kamineni holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics and has an Accelerated Diploma in Hospital Administration from Columbia University, New York. As a member of the founding family of the Apollo Hospital Group, she has been instrumental in catalysing several of the Group’s ambitious projects, right from their early days. Shobana spearheads Apollo Pharmacy - India’s largest pharma retailer. In 2008, she was at the helm of Apollo’s foray into Health Insurance in collaboration with Munich Re, named Apollo Munich Health Insurance. Shobana has also nurtured Apollo Health Education and Research Foundation’s emergence as a milestone institution. Shobana joined the Board of Blue Star in May 2014. She is the Vice Chairperson of the KEI Group and a past Chairperson of CII-Southern Region. Currently, she is the Chairperson of CII National Public Health Committee. Shobana has also been nominated as a Member of Executive Council and Finance Committee of Osmania University, Hyderabad and is a Member on the Advisory Committee of NCC.

Mr. Arvind K. Singhal is Additional Independent Director of the Company. He has a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electronics & Communication from liT -Roorkee and a Master of Business Finance (Finance & Marketing) from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the Founder & Chairman of Technopak Advisors. He has served on several committees in the leading chambers of commerce and industry in India, across different sectors including retail, textiles, healthcare, and education. He is currently on the Boards of Welspun India, Greaves Cotton Limited, Metro Shoes, and Premium Transmission Limited. In addition, he is also serving on the Board of Governors of lndraprastha Institute of Information Technology (lilT)- Delhi. In the past, he has served on the Advisory Board of LG Electronics (India), and on the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology (liT)- Roorkee and is serving on Leadership Advisory Council of IIT-Gandhi Nagar. Over the years, he has been invited to speak at leading academic institutions and professional forums, a regular columnist for leading Indian business papers, and a frequent contributor to major Indian and international business publications.

Mr. Shailesh V. Haribhakti re-designated as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Blue Star Limited with effect from April 1, 2019. Mr. Haribhakti is a Chartered and Cost Accountant, and a Certified Internal Auditor, Financial Planner & Fraud Examiner. During a career span of four decades, he has successfully established and led many innovative services including outsourcing of knowledge processes, engaged investing, as well as efficiency and effectiveness enhancement in society, commercial and governmental organisations. Shailesh joined the Board of Blue Star in 2005. In addition, he is also on the Boards of several leading companies such as Ambuja Cements Ltd, ACC Ltd and Pantaloon Retail India Ltd, amongst others. He has been associated with several institutions and trade associations such as Indian Merchants’ Chamber, Institute of Internal Auditors, Bombay Management Association, ASSOCHAM, Western India Regional Council of ICAI and NMIMS. In addition, he is empanelled as an Arbitrator by the Indian Council of Arbitration.

Mr. Gurdeep Singh is Independent Non-Executive Director of Blue Star Limited. Mr. Singh is a Chemical Engineering Graduate from IIT Delhi. After his graduation, he joined Hindustan Lever Ltd as a Management Trainee. He held various responsible positions in the Company before he was expatriated to Brazil as Technical Director of the Unilever Detergents business. Gurdeep returned to Hindustan Lever Ltd in 1998 as Director - Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Technology, and retired from the Company in October 2003. He joined the Board of Blue Star in 2003. He is also on the Boards of several leading companies including Halonix Ltd, Gabriel India Ltd, Everest Kanto Cylinder Ltd, Technova India Ltd and Gateway Rail Freight Ltd.

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